Barbados Social Advocates Address Rise in Youth Violence Linked to Parenting Crisis

As Barbados grapples with a troubling rise in youth violence, two social workers are sounding the alarm on a critical yet often overlooked factor: the erosion of positive parenting. This family breakdown, they argue, is creating a perfect storm that is pushing more young people towards crime and threatening the very fabric of Barbadian society.

The island recorded 26 murders up to the end of July this year – compared to 21 for all of last year – with an unprecedented number of young perpetrators. Now, the leading social advocates are calling for urgent action to address the root causes of this disturbing trend.

Juliet Hinds, community outreach and advocacy chair of the Barbados Association of Professional Social Workers (BAPSW), and Fabian Sargeant, president of the Men’s Empowerment Network, spoke exclusively to Barbados TODAY about the crisis unfolding in homes across the island.

“If you want to impact a generation, we have to start at the root of the current generation, and that is really trying to impact parenting,” Sargeant emphasised. “[That means] getting parents to think differently, getting parents to try and understand their role, to understand that they are preparing adults for the future, and getting parents to be more selfless and stop being selfish.”

The government has acknowledged the “serious uptick” in murders and the “tremendous burden” of the high numbers recorded so far this year, Attorney General Dale Marshall told the Lower House during the debate on the Bail Bill 2024, last month. Marshall said at the time that the number of firearms seized by the police was at an all-time high, including high-powered weapons such as AK47s and Glocks.

These statistics reflect the multifaceted challenges facing the island, including the competing pressures faced by many Barbadian families, according to Sargeant.

“Everybody is hustling, so therefore money takes priority,” he said. “We need parents to understand that when they neglect their duties, we end up with things like what we face in society today, where there is a big gap between what we consider right or wrong.”

Hinds echoed these concerns, drawing particular attention to the absence of positive father figures in many households. The BAPSW is currently spearheading an innovative programme to reconnect children aged six to ten with their estranged fathers, fostering healthier family dynamics.

“[We] find that a lot of these crimes that are happening involve children that don’t have their fathers around,” Hinds said without providing statistics.

Both advocates stressed the critical role of male influence during adolescence, particularly for boys developing their sense of identity and values, and the plummeting literacy rates among young boys. The conversation also touched on broader systemic issues exacerbating the problem. Hinds called for a complete overhaul of rehabilitation programmes for ex-offenders, citing the lack of employment opportunities and support systems that often lead to reoffending.

“Sometimes you hear a lot of them say, ‘I can’t wait to get back into prison’ because there is nothing out there for them to do,” Hinds lamented. “A lot of them are unemployed, and that is one of the problems . . . so they just find themselves involved in crime, and it is getting worse.”

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb